Christopher Feigum

Baritone

Biography

Christopher Feigum has been praised for his dynamic stage presence and elegant musicianship with America’s leading opera companies and orchestras. Critic John von Rhien in the Chicago Tribune praised his “mellifluously sung, elegantly acted Figaro…the quality of his voice and singing is matched by his amiably confident platform manner.” This role served as the vehicle for his San Francisco Opera debut in a John Copley production under the baton of Roy Goodman; He also has sung the role with Opera Colorado, St. Louis Opera Theater, Houston Grand Opera and Tulsa Opera.

Mr. Feigum’s recent work includes performances as First Officer in John Adam’s controversial work The Death of Klinghoffer at the Metropolitan Opera, Brander with the Cleveland Orchestra in La Damnation de Faust with Maestro Charles Dutoit and performances of Strauss’ Daphne as the First Shepard with Maestro Franz Welser-Möst in Cleveland. Additionally, Mr. Feigum made his debut with the Lincoln Center Festival in New York to reprise the role of First Shepard in Daphne with Maestro Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra.

During the 2012/13 season, Mr Feigum returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Sebastian for the critically acclaimed performances of Thomas Adès’ The Tempest (available on Deutsche Gramaphon DVD), for which Mr. Feigum won a Grammy® Award (Best Opera Recording 2013). The performances were broadcast in cinemas in over 100 countries, as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s ”Live in HD” broadcasts.

Mr. Feigum’s 2011/12 season included a successful last minute Metropolitan Opera debut, replacing an ailing colleague, as Baron Prus in Janacek’s The Makropulos Case, which also served as his Metropolitan Opera International Radio broadcast debut. He made his Tanglewood debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Brander in La Damnation de Faust with Maestro Charles Dutoit. Other highlights included a return to Kentucky Opera as Danilo in their production of Merry Widow, Brahms Requiem for his Kansas City Symphony debut and Tulsa Opera to portray Joey in Frank Loesser’s Most Happy Fella.

Mr. Feigum’s 2010/11 season began with his role and house debuts at the New York City Opera as Young Sam in Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place, to great critical acclaim. He also made his role debut with Tulsa Opera in the title role of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

During the 2009/10 season, he joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, covering the role of Kovalyov in the premier of Dmitri Shostakovich’s The Nose. He reprised the role of Figaro in John Corigliano’sGhosts of Versailles at the Wexford Opera Festival in Ireland and made his house debut as Escamillo inCarmen at Utah Opera.

In the 2008/09 season, Mr. Feigum returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing the roles of Lescaut in David McVicar’s production of Manon and Silvio in Pagliacci. He also appeared as Dr. Falke in Dallas Opera’s production of Die Fledermaus, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles with the Seattle Opera, Belcore in L’Elisir D’Amore with Tulsa Opera, Figaro in John Corigliano’s Ghosts of Versailles with Opera Theater of St. Louis and in concert with the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst in Mozart’s Mass in C-Minor.

Mr. Feigum’s previous work includes Dr. Maletesta in Don Pasquale conducted by Stephen Lord with Opera Colorado, Lescaut in Puccinni’s Manon Lescaut directed by Olivier Tambosi and conducted by Bruno Bartoletti and Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He debuted at Seattle Opera as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, performed Alidoro in La Cenerentola for Dallas Opera and Kentucky Opera and made his role debut as Marcello in La Bohéme with Kentucky Opera.

Mr. Feigum made debuts with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Atlanta Symphony as Brander in La Damnation de Faust with Maestro Charles Dutoit. He debuted with the Cleveland Symphony as the Gamekeeper/Huntsman in Rusulka with Maestro Franz Welser-Möst and with Los Angeles Opera as Reinmar in Tannhäuser with Maestro James Conlon conducting. He also performed with Maestro Marin Alsop in Brahm’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony.

He has performed Haly in L’Italiana in Algeri, Police Sergeant in The Pirates of Penzance and Guglielmo in Cosí fan Tutte with Santa Fe Opera; Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Colorado, Opera Pacific, Madison Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Schaunard in La Bohéme with Tulsa Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Houston Grand Opera; Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with Sarasota Opera; Capulet in Roméo et Juliette with Madison Opera and Surin in Pique Dame with Dallas Opera. Concert appearances have included performances of Handel’s Messiah with the San Diego Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and Colorado Symphony, solo works with the San Francisco Symphony in The Best Time of the Year, Lucky to be me with the New York City Opera and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Madison Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with Washinton Opera, Eugene Symphony and Chicago Opera Theater.

Christopher Feigum is an alumnus of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. Among other roles with the company, he has performed Samuel in ThePirates of Penzance, the Bosun in David McVicar’s production of Billy Budd conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, Montano in Sir Peter Hall’s production ofOthello and Carl Olsen in Street Scene. He also sang the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte, Surin in Pique Dame, Angelotti in Tosca and covered the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Dr. Atomic.

As an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Mr. Feigum performed Zuniga in Carmen, the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte, Luther and Crespel in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Bonze in Madama Butterfly, First Soldier in Salome and Lt. Ratcliffe in Billy Budd. He created the roles of Gideon March and Dashwood in the world premier of Mark Adamo’s Little Women, sang the role of Plutone in Orfeo in an HGO collaboration with Canada’s Opera Atelier, Count Lamoral in Renée Flemming’s first Arabella, the doctor in La Traviata and covered Sam Ramey in Mefistofele.

As a young artist, Mr. Feigum made his professional debut at age 23 as Pfleger in Elektra with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Chicago and Carnegie Hall conducted by Maestro Daniel Barenboim. He performed with the Grant Park Music Festival in Bartok’s Cantata Profana conducted by Carlos Kalmar, Bernstein’s Songfest with The Milwaukee Symphony and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Brahm’sLiebeslieder Waltzes at the Ravinia Festival and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Terre Haute Symphony.

During his career, Mr. Feigum has performed for over 30,000 school children and in outreach programs across the country.

Reviews

“As his alter ego, Figaro, Christopher Feigum offered sure understanding and solid singing. He was hilarious in his turn as a Turkish hootchy-kootchy dancer.”

St. Louis Post Dispatch

“Feigum was appealing and energetic”

Wall Street Journal

More Reviews

“As his alter ego, Figaro, Christopher Feigum offered sure understanding and solid singing. He was hilarious in his turn as a Turkish hootchy-kootchy dancer.”

St. Louis Post Dispatch

“Feigum was appealing and energetic”

Wall Street Journal

“Christopher Feigum’s Malatesta was also a delight, as he engineered his sit-com shenanigans while singing with focus and power to spare.”

Rocky Mountain News

“Christopher Feigum’s charisma and seductively virile baritone made him a perfectly cast Mercutio…”

Opera News

“Suave and sure of himself and his well-rounded baritone voice, Christopher Feigum’s Falke was clearly in control of events.”

John. F. Hulcoop, Opera News

“Suave and sure of himself and his well-rounded baritone voice, Christopher Feigum’s Falke was clearly in control of events.”

John. F. Hulcoop, Opera News

“The Dr. Falke of Christopher Feigum was engaging.”

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Christopher Feigum cut a fine comic figure as the sergeant Belcore, who is convinced that every woman in the world is fascinated with him. His introductory aria, “Come paride,” was done with a grand swagger, and a bit of “break the fourth wall” staging that was nicely over-the-top — and perfectly in keeping with the character”

James Watts, Tulsa World

“The other principals are also effective. American baritone Christopher Feigum truly seems drunk most of the time as Manon’s cousin Lescaut, a gambling-addicted lout who precipitates much of the tragedy and only encounters his own conscience in the sad final scene.”

“The key to the tragedy was Manon’s smarmy brother, sung with distinction by American baritone Christopher Feigum.”

Dorothy Andries, The Pioneer Press

“…baritone Christopher Feigum, oak-solid in the smaller role of Brander, bartender in that rowdy tavern.”

Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News

“Baritone Christopher Feigum sang with gusto as Brander.”

Georgia Rowe, ContraCosta Times

“I was also impressed by the musicality, as well as the vocalism, of baritone Feigum. His was a brief role, done with excellent artistry.”

Heuwell Tircuit, San Francisco Classical Voice,

“Baritone Christopher Feigum did well in the role of the Brander, offering a properly snarky ‘Song of the Rat’.”

Pierre Ruhe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Christopher Feigum filled out the cast ably as Brander.”

Robert S. Clark, The Hudson Review,

“Good-looking bass-baritone Christopher Feigum was a spirited Alidoro who brought visual piquancy to the production.”

Maria Nockin, Opera Japonica

“Christopher Feigum was an ardent, romantic Guglielmo who gave a fine rendition of an ungrateful role.”

Maria Nockin, Opera Japonica

“Christopher Feigum does splendid work as Figaro, imbuing the role with a spirited sense of determination…”

Chris Gibson, BroadwayWorld.com

“As Figaro, Feigum was a natural actor in both comic and shameful moments; he handled his English narration with natural ease and his Italian singing with power, authority and humor.”

Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times

“The quality of his voice and singing is matched by his amiably confident platform manner…a mellifluously sung, elegantly acted Figaro.”

John von Rhein, Opera Now

“Christopher Feigum’s…portrayed the sleazy character [Don Basilio] with delicious vitality.”

John W. Barker, Isthmus,

“A very funny Christopher Feigum as Don Basilio…”

Michael Muckian, The Capital Times

“Bass-baritone Christopher Feigum must relish those rich, low, low notes he fit to the “peccata mundi” of the “Agnus Dei.””

John Aehl, The State Journal

“The…recitative and solo by baritone Christopher Feigum was a high point of the evening. Feigum has beautiful tone combined with clear diction and a confident stage presence. His voice filled the hall.”

Matthew Balensuela, Tribune-Star

“Feigum reveled in his role…Nothing in his résumé suggests a born (again) evangelist, but he has the cadence, dynamism and physical gestures down pat; and he projects a spooky sort of commanding presence that’s perfect for this character.”